Sex offenders cutting off GPS trackers

It also said offenders have learned they can disarm the devices, with little risk of serving time if they get caught because realignment changes the maximum penalty to up 180 days in jail. In some counties, including San Joaquin and Fresno, detention authorities have refused to accept parole violators or released them early because the jails are full.

But that isn’t happening in San Diego County, at least not yet. Sheriff Bill Gore said this week that although the jails here have come close to reaching capacity, his deputies have not had to turn away parole violators.

“We are booking them all,” Gore said.

That may be some comfort to county residents still shaken by what happened to Chelsea and Amber.

Gardner pleaded guilty in April 2010 to charges he raped and murdered the girls. He is now serving life without parole at Corcoran state prison.

State records showed that Gardner, who was convicted in 2000 of molesting a 13-year-old girl, violated parole at least seven times, including by living too close to Miramar College, but was never returned to prison. Most of the violations were minor.

Chelsea’s Law, authored by then-Assemblyman Nathan Fletcher and supported by District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis, moved relatively quickly through the Legislature. The bill was signed into law in September 2010.

Since their daughter was killed, the Kings have been working through the Chelsea’s Light Foundation to raise money to fund scholarships for San Diego County teens and spread Chelsea’s Law, in one form or another, to other states.

They said Thursday that legislation has been introduced in Texas and Illinois, with a special focus on a component that allows for one-strike sentences of life in prison without parole.

“We believe in the one-strike process first and foremost,” Brent King said. “When you look at everything that occurs in this world of sexual predators that target children, we expect zero tolerance,” King said.

The third annual Finish Chelsea’s Run 5K is scheduled for Saturday.

King and Fletcher, whose term in office ended in December, said realignment could jeopardize public safety.

“It’s really disheartening to see the lack of follow through of enforcement of Chelsea’s Law,” Fletcher said. “New laws are pointless if existing laws aren’t enforced.”

Prosecutors have said Chelsea’s Law helped fix some deficiencies in existing sex offender laws by increasing sentences, lengthening parole periods and requiring the use of dynamic tools to evaluate risk.

Fifty-two cases have been filed locally under Chelsea’s Law since 2010, 33 of which were resolved by a guilty plea or a jury’s finding of guilt. One defendant was found not guilty.

The California Sex Offender Management Board released a report this week that acknowledged efforts to set up certification processes for sex offender treatment, and training sessions to improve communication among probation officers, treatment providers and polygraph examiners.

Board members also noted that there have been difficulties.

“We’re still working through the requirements that were put into place by Jessica’s Law,” said Nancy O’Malley, the board’s chairwoman and district attorney of Alameda County.

Passed by voters in 2006, Jessica’s Law barred sex offenders from living within 2,000 feet of schools and parks. Several counties, including San Diego, have challenged that restriction in court, saying it’s unenforceable.

It also required lifetime GPS monitoring for some offenders. O’Malley said state and local agencies continue to disagree on who should monitor them and pay the costs, after the offenders’ probation or parole terms end.